Streaming in at High Velocity

SDHV Is Quietly Changing the Way We See Air

In new buildings, poor HVAC design and installation practice accounts for more energy waste than any other single factor.

Unfortunately, when it comes to HVAC, it’s the contractors themselves causing the aberration by pushing high efficiency boxes rather than high efficiency systems; a copious distinction invariably lost in a such a highly competitive marketplace.

Our oft repeated experience with subordinate mechanical contractors, engineers and suppliers over the decades has brought us to the conclusion revealed here: Gambit or Piracy? Make a point to check it out – it’s a quick read.

As a result, HVAC is the weakest link in what might otherwise be truly high performance buildings.

Since buildings have become more efficient, oversize HVAC equipment has emerged as one of the more serious problems in building science. Although there’s general awareness of this issue among industry practitioners, few understand the full extent of the problem or its consequences.

Making the Weather Inside Forgettable

Abide understands and corrects this injustice by properly sizing the equipment, adding requisite peripherals such as energy recovery ventilation, humidity control and air purification systems. When this is done correctly, residual funds help offset the cost of environmental automation and high performance insulation. Together with the savings that Posiframe™ engineering affords a project, there’s always potential for a savings overall when compared to “conventional,” less-sustainable construction methods.

Because YOU’RE A SMARTER BUILDER, we’ll make it simpler for you to understand – but don’t expect much cooperation from your existing mechanical sub. See this: The Problem: Changing The Game
 

The Bad Guy,
The Good Guy

To some degree every builder has to try to see some aspect of the project from the end user’s point of view; whether it’s a retail center, an office building, a condo, an apartment, a house, restaurant or a hotel.

To minimize the arcane yet ostensible necessity of a builder trying to envisage everything from the building owner’s eyes, it’s the job of the building designers – the architects and engineers – to “reduce” the owners visions, ideas and perspectives to plans and specifications. To a degree frequently beyond the designer’s preferences, we as builders have to rely on our own tastes and viewpoints in order to be able to give the client the finished look and feel of what we perceive to be their vision.

It comes down to more than what can be seen on paper or a computer screen. The textures, the smells, the “feel” and the sounds the finished building makes solidify the true impression. In the end, it’s the builder who gets the call-backs – not the building’s designers.

Obviously we think that clients want to feel warm in winter and cool in summer inside their buildings, and they don’t particularly care to hear air rushing into or out of vents, or the whir of equipment running.

The air they’re breathing should smell and taste fresh, not stale, chemically or odorous. That air shouldn’t be so dry that they get parched after a few minutes, and it shouldn’t be so humid they would ever notice it – or perspire easily.

What the Client Needs

All of these things are so important that we don’t even want to think about them. They don’t help the client’s business close the sale, buy the stock, manufacture the widget or buy the groceries, help with the kid’s homework or put gas in the car. They especially don’t want to have to pay big utility bills to remind them that the air they’re breathing is dirty or the hot or cold discomfort they may be feeling still costs so much.

End-users don’t want to think about these things – ever.

We here at ABCS believe they’re right about that. Our solution is to exclusively furnish and install the most advanced and cost effective mechanical system that technology has available. They’re called SDHV – Small Duct High Velocity – systems.

Comfort depends on much more than just temperature. Air circulation is the critical component in indoor comfort. Even the most efficient, high performance air conditioner or furnace can’t make inhabitants comfortable unless the conditioned air is effectively circulated. Small duct high velocity (SDHV) systems use efficient, easy to install air handlers and flexible ducts (about 1/3 the size of sheet metal duct) with outlets positioned where they’re needed to deliver comfort throughout the building.

ABCS Approved Mechanical Systems

The idea of uniform, year-round comfort, with fewer of the unwanted challenges common to other central heating and air-conditioning systems was not new for us here at Abide. Nor was it elsewhere…

SpacePak, the ORIGINATOR of small duct high velocity (SDHV) central air conditioning systems brings their vast experience and innovation to bear on high performance building construction. A subsidiary of the giant manufacturer Mestek, whose companies include Smith Boilers, Sterling HVAC, Dadanco, Embassy Industries, Hydro-therm, Engel Industries and so many others, SpacePak has been quietly building and fine-tuning SDHV systems for nearly three decades.

SDHV systems lend themselves well to today’s open floor plans as well as to older, historic styles – for both new construction and existing properties. SDHV systems can improve the delivery of conditioned air and enhance indoor comfort. Even though they have sleek, modern look – they’re barely noticeable at all, much easier to install and maintain – and they can save huge time and money over traditional metal duct fabrication.

These systems have proven to be the easiest to install, service and maintain, and by far the least expensive to operate. They are so different from conventional HVAC systems however, that the US government has written new specifications guidelines governing them just to accommodate the technology.
 
Due to the smaller tube shapes of the duct work and the use of specially designed nozzles as opposed to vents, and even though they process air at high velocity, these systems are quieter compared to conventional HVAC large duct systems; they’re nearly silent. By far the most cost-effective comfort for any building, regardless of the structure’s design, size, construction type or age.

They’re so ecologically and economically sound that their installation yields absolutely no loss of usable floor space, or unsightly components, nor high energy bills. The actual boxes and cases the fans and coil elements are built into are quite a bit smaller than conventional fan coil units of common HVAC air handling systems.

Their modular construction makes the system designs and placing their location in the building envelope much easier, which in turn makes service and maintenance a snap.

Competitors like Unico and ComfortAire have taken the concept to various  
different levels, and the world is beginning to notice.

Passivecore™ Compatible

We designed our Passivecore™ elements with SDHV systems in mind; the idea being that small supply and return vents could be added easily at any time in the future. When the elements are installed in the wall cavities wherever possible, the locations where fresh or conditioned air can be supplied or exhausted is limited only to the imagination.

The Passivecore element integrates HVAC distribution, humidity control, solar heating, passive air circulation, domestic plumbing supplies and electrical wiring within a new higher density insulation for a building’s wall cavities. Installed before electrical and mechanical trades return to continue their rough-ins, it not only saves on material costs, but also streamlines the time and labor needed for their work.

For further details on exactly what Passivecore™ is and how it can be used in your projects, please visit this page: The Passivecore™ Solution